Pole coating apparatus



1953 A. c. ROBINSON ETAL 2,82

POLE COATING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 9, 1954 INVENTORS ANDREW C QobmsomHnow K. BURCH ATTORNEY United rates POLE COATING APPARATUS Andrew C.Robinson and Hylon K. Burch, Great Falls, Mont.

This invention relates to coating and more particularly to an apparatusfor facilitating the painting or coating of poles, such as thosecommonly used for supporting electric power and telephone lines.

As is well known, wooden poles common with other Wooden structures aresubject to deterioration from exposure to the elements and from variousinsects and the like and consequently, it is common practice to preservesuch poles and prolong the life thereof by coating the same with asuitable material such as paint. While it is a relatively simpleoperation to coat such poles prior to setting the same in the groundafter the same have been set and cross bars and the like attachedthereto, it is an extremely difiicult and time consuming operation topaint or coat the same, since this usually requires that the painterclimb the pole and paint the same from the .top down. Obviously, muchtime and effort could be saved it it were possible to paint the entirepole from the ground, regardless of cross arms and other obstructionsmounted thereon.

Heretofore, numerous devices for painting poles and the like from theground have been proposed and utilized, but many of these devicesrequired the use of halyards already installed or the installation ofsuch halyards on the pole in order to. raise and lower the paintingdevice. Obviously, if it were necessary to climb a pole to installhalyards for supporting and raising and lowering the painting device, itwould be substantially as simple, to paint the pole at that time, ratherthan to install the halyards and thereafter use a painting device.

Furthermore, many of these prior art devices were only suitable forpainting an unobstructed portion of the pole and could not be operatedfrom the ground in such a manner that cross arms and other obstructionscould be avoided. and at the same time paint the entire pole.

Many of the prior art devices of this nature were also extremelycumbersome and relatively heavy and in certain instances, such deviceswere provided with power operated means for engaging the surface of thepole to propel the device up and down such pole. Obviously, coatingdevices of this nature are relatively expensive and in many instances,made the painting operation more costly than would be the case if thesame were manua-lly painted.

It is accordingly an object of the inventionto provide a pole coatingdevice which may beconveniently manufactured from relatively lightweightmaterials. and which may be conveniently manipulated by a. single personstanding on the ground.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a pole coatingdevice whichmay be entirely controlled by an operator standing on theground who may open and close the device at will, and apply the same toa pole above or below the cross arms or other. obstructions mountedthereon and thereafter coat such pole by merely moving the device up anddown the same.

Astill further object of the invention is the provision of a'polecoating device in which paint or other coating atent ree h materials maybe suppliedto the device througha flexible conduit from a supplycontainer located on the" ground.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a pole coatingdevice in which the paint or other coating material is applied to thesurface of the pole and spread by means'of brushes and fabric coveredrollers.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a pole coatingdevice which is readily and automatically adapted to coating poles ofvarying diameters.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a pole coatingdevice in which all of the paint or coating material utilized is appliedto the surface of the pole thereby preventing waste andv reducing thecost of the pole painting operation to a minimum.

Further objects and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken'in conjunction with the accompanying drawingwherein:

Fig. 1 is a bottom plan view of apole coating apparatus constructed inaccordance with this invention and showing the same in pole engagingposition in full lines, and in open position in broken lines;

Fig. 2, a fragmentary sectional view onthe line 22 of Fig. 1, andshowing the relative arrangement of one of the paint headers, brushesand rollers;

Fig. 3, a view in. perspective showing the painting apparatus of thisinvention in closed position, such as the same would occupy whenpainting or coating a pole;

' Fig. 4, a view similar to Fig. 3, but showing the pole painting orcoating apparatus in open position to be applied to a pole; and

Fig. 5, a fragmentary view in perspective showing, the manner ofattaching the supporting rod to the device, as Wellas the manner ofattaching a pulley for guiding the control rope.

With continued reference to the drawing there is shown a pole coatingdevice constructed in accordance with this invention and which may wellcomprise a hood 10 hav'- ing an open bottom and a top andsidewall, whichhood may well comprise a fixed arcuate segment 11 having a top wall 12andan arcuate sidewall 13. Pivotally mounted on one end of fixed arcuatesegment 11 is a movable arcuate segment 14 having a top wall 15' and anarcuate sidewall 16 constituting a continuation of the sidewall 13 offixed arcuate segment 12. The arcuate segment 14 is attached to thefixed arcuate segment. 13 by a-hinge 17 which may be provided with aremovable hinge pin 18 for permitting convenient disassembly ofthe-apparatus;

Secured to the opposite end of the fixed arcuateseg ment 11 by asuitable hinge 19 having a removable'hinge pin 20 for convenientdisassembly, is a second movable arcuate segment 21 provided with a topwall 22 and an arcuate sidewall 23 which alsoconstitutes a continuationof the arcuate sidewall 13 of the fixed arcuate segment 11.

As will be seen from an inspection of Fig. 3, the top Walls 15 and 22 ofthe movable arcuate segments 14 and 21 respectively are provided withportions which overlap the top wall 12 of the fixed arcuate segment 11when the movable segments are in closed position toform aclosed,generally circular hood having a centralopenitig 24 of a diameterslightly greater than the normal diameter of a pole to be painted. Thefree ends of the movable seg ments 14 and 21 also have overlappingportions in both the top walls and the sidewalls tothere'byprovide asubstantially closed hood when in closed position.

In order to support and conveniently manipulate the pole coatingapparatus of this invention from the ground,

ere maybe provided an ear or other suitable bracket 25 projecting fromthe sidewall 13 of the fixed arcuate segment 11 and pivotally secured tothis bracket 25 by any suitablemeans, such as a bolt26 and winginut27,is a rod 28': which may, if desired, be of hollow lightweight" comstructionand which may be provided with joints for permitting theapplication or removal of additional sections in order to make such rod28 any desired length whereby manipulation of the device of thisinvention may be facilitated at any desired height above the ground. Thebolt 26' and wing nut 27 provides a means for adjusting the hoodangularly with relation to the rod 28 and suflicient friction isprovided by this connection to securely hold the hood 10 in suchadjusted position. Normally, however, for most painting operations thehood 10 would be disposed at substantially right angles to the axis ofthe rod 28. i

In order that the movable segments 14 and 21 may be opened and closedfrom. a remote point, such as the ground, there may be provided anactuatingarm 29secured to the movable segment 14 by' welding or thelike, as shown at 30, the arm 29 projecting outwardly and rearwardly ofthe hood 10 and being provided adjacent its end with an eye 31 forslidably receiving a bar 32 which in turn is pivotally mounted at 33 onthe fixed arcuate segment 11. Disposed around the bar 32 between thepoint 33 and the eye 31 is a compression spring 34 which serves to urgethe arm 29 outwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, and the movable arcuatesegment 14 to closed position. In order that the movable arcuate segment21 will operate in'conjunction with the arcuate segment 14, a link 35 ispivotally connected at 36 to the actuating arm 29 and at 37 to themovable arcuate segment 21.

Mounted on the sidewall 13 of the fixed arcuate segment 11 by a suitablehinge38 is a pulley 39 and trained over this pulley 39 is a flexibleelement such as a rope 40 which is'attached at its end 41 to theactuating arm 29 and is of suflicient length to extend to the groundwhen the hood 10 is disposed at the top of a pole to be painted. 1 Therope 40 may be utilized to open the movable arcuate segments 14 and 21when the hood 10 is in an elevated header 50 is connected by a coupling52 and a pipe 53 to a flexible conduit 54 which in turn is connected toa pipe 55 extending from a supply fitting 48. Similarly there isprovided an arcuate header 56 mounted on the underside of top wall 22 ofmovable arcuate segment 21, and header 56 is provided with a pluralityof orifices 57. The header 56 is connected through acoupling 58 and apipe 59 with a flexible conduit 60 which in turn is connected to a pipe61 with the supply fitting 48. The flexible conpositionabove the groundand as will be'seen from an inspection of Figs. 3 and 4, adownward pullon the rope pulley will operate to move the actuatingarm 29 inwardly byswinging the arcuate segment 14 outwardly and at the same time, throughthe link 35 swinging the arcuate seg-' ment 21 outwardly .to thepositions shown in Fig. 4 and in broken lines in' Fig. 1. Release of therope will permit the compression spring 44 which was compressed by theopening operation to urge the actuating arm 29 outwardly and therebyclose both the movable segment 14 and the movable segment 21.

In order to-provide for convenient opening and closing of the movablesegments 14 and 21 when the apparatus is on the ground or at aconvenient manual operating height thereabove, there may be provided asecond actuat ing arm 42 secured to the movable arcuate segment 21 bywelding or the'like, as shown at 43, the actuating arm 42 extendingrearwardly in the same manner as actuatingarm 29.and when it'is desiredto open and close the hood 10, it is only necessary to grasp eachactuating arm 29 and 42 in each hand of the operator and move such armstoward each other to open the movable segments 14 and 21 and thereaftersuch segments will be closed by the compression spring 34 or such actionmay be'augmentedby spreading the arms 29 and 42 apart manually. Securedbeneath the top" wall 12 of the fixed arcuate segmentzll is .an arcuateheader-which extends throughout thelength of the fixed-arcuate segment11 and is provided with a plurality of orifices 46. The header 45 issecured by a suitable coupling 47 to an inlet fitting 48 which may beattached to a flexible conduit 49 extending to a suitable source ofpaint or other coating material disposed on the ground and which may beforced under pressure through the conduit 49 to the fitting 48 andtherefrom to the header 45. Secured to the under side of the top wall 15of the movable arcuate segment 14 is duits 54 and permit relativemovement of the movable arcuate segments 14 and 21 without destroyingthe supply connection between the source of paint or other coatingmaterial and the headers 50 and 56 mounted in the movable arcuatesegments 14 and 21.

Mounted in the hood 10 below the arcuate headers 45, 50 and 56, are aplurality of brushes 62 having bristles 63 directed radially inwardlyand in which all of the brushes 62 provide a circular arrangement in.which the bristles 63 will engage substantially the entire circumferenceof the pole to be painted. As best shownv in Fig. 2, the base 64 of eachbrush 62. is providedwith an enlarged aperture 65 through which extendsa bolt or other suitable fastening element 66 and threadedlyreceived onthe outer end thereof above the top wall of each segment is a wing nut67 which'serves to secure the body 64 of the brush 62 in position. Itwill be noted fromv an inspection of Fig. 2, that the brushes 62 extendin-;

wardly and are inclined downwardly and the angle of inclination may bedetermined by a bar 68 secured to they top wall of each segment in adesired position and form ing an abutment for the upper surface of thebody 64 of each brush 62 and, as will be clear, the position of the bar68 determines the angle of inclination of the brush 62. When it isdesired to clean the brushes 62, it is only necessary to remove eachwing nut 67 upon which the brushes can be conveniently removed andcleaned in any desired manner. It is also to be noted that the downwardinclination of the brushes permits flow of paint or other coatingmaterial toward the tips of the brisfles 63 thereby facilitating theapplication of all paint or coating material ejected from the headers tothe pole.

Disposed directly below the brushes 62 in a circular arrangement are aplurality of rollers 69 and, as best shown in in Fig. 2, such rollersmay well comprise a core 70 which is rotatably mounted on an axle 71,such axle having an angularly disposed portion 72 which ex-. tendsthrough an aperture in the sidewall of each arcuate. segment and may besecured in place therein by a wing nut 73 engaging the outer surface ofsuch sidewalls. Theradial position of the rollers 69 may be adjusted byanabutment nut 74 threadedly received on the angularly disposed portion72 and likewise, the rollers may be re-' moved for cleaning or otherpurposes by merely removing the wing nuts 73. Each roller 69 has securedto the core70 a body 75 and received on the outer surface of the bodymay be a yieldable covering of fabric or other suitable material 76.Rollers 69 are normally adjusted in such a fashion that all of theserollers will engage the pole to be painted and serve to guide thepainting apparatus in up and down movements on the pole.

In operation it is assumed that the flexible conduit 49 is connected toa suitable source of supply of paint or other coating materialsutilized, and that sufficient'presf sure is applied to such source toforce the paint or-coat: ing material through the conduit 49 and to theheaders 45, 50 and 56, secured to the hood 10. Likewise, it is assumedthat the brushes 62 and rollers 69 are adjusted in such a manner as toengage and accommodate the particular pole to be painted after which themovable arcuate segments 14 and 21 will be opened by moving theactuating arms 29 and 42 toward each othergeith'er by grasping the samein the hand of the operator or by exerting a downward pull on the rope40. Thepaint ing apparatus is applied to the pole by passing thesameradially thereof untilrthepole is centered in the open ing 24 and it tobe noted, that this 'operationt-may'take place at any location on: thepole, either above or below cross arms or other obstacles thereon, afterwhich the movable segments 14 and 21 are allowed to close with thebrushes 62 and rollers 69 in engagement with the surface of the pole. Atthis time, paint or other coating material is ejected from the arcuateheaders 45, 50 and 56 onto the brushes 62 and the device ismoved up anddown the pole through the medium of the rod 28 held in the hands of theoperator standing on the ground, by reason of which the brushes 62 andthe rollers 69 serve to spread and distribute the paint or other coatingmaterial over the surface of the pole. It is. to he noted, that if thediameter of the pole is such that the movable segments are somewhatspread thereby preventing overlapping of the brushes and rollers, thatthe device may be moved up and down and also rotated on the pole in sucha manner as to bring the brushes and rollers into contact with theentire exterior surface thereof. This, of course, results in a smoothand even coating of paint or other material on the surface of the poleand also provides a secure bond between this coating material and thepole.

Obviously, sections may be added to the rod 28 to cover any reasonableheight and the apparatus may be opened and closed at any height in orderto move the same around cross arms or other obstructions present on thepole. It will also be apparent, that any paint or other coating materialdripping from the headers will be caught by the bristles 63 of thebrushes 62 and will flow down such bristles, due to the inclinationthereof and be applied to the surface of the pole. It will also be seen,that the apparatus may be conveniently dismantled for cleaning or otherpurposes by removing the hinge pins 18 and 20 to permit complete openingof the hood and likewise, the brushes 62 and rollers 69 may beconveniently removed and washed in a suitable cleaning solution.

By use of this invention, a pole may be completely painted from top tobottom in a relatively short time and by an operator standing on theground without the necessity for anyone climbing the pole in order toinstall halyards or any other fixtures thereon and likewise, theapparatus may be of such lightweight construction that no undue fatigueis experienced in utilizing the same. Furthermore, the apparatus of thisinvention may accommodate and coat poles of varying diameters, it onlybeing necessary to open the hood and apply the same to the pole, afterwhich all surface thereof may be covered by suitable manipulation of theapparatus.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scopethereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which isshown in the drawing and described in the specification, but only asindicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A pole coating apparatus comprising a hood open at the bottom andhaving a substantially flat top wall and a circular sidewall, a centralopening in said top wall, said hood comprising an intermediate arcuatesegment, a swingable arcuate segment hingedly mounted on each end ofsaid intermediate segment and a bracket extending from the center of thesidewall of said intermediate segment, a supporting and operating rodadjustably secured to said bracket, an actuating arm secured to one ofsaid swingable segments, a link pivotally connected to said arm and tothe other of said swingable segments, an eye on said arm, a barpivotally mounted on said intermediate segment and slidably received insaid eye, a compression spring disposed on said bar between saidintermediate segment and said eye, a pulley mounted on said intermediatesegment, a flexible actuating element trained over said pulley andattached to said arm, a plurality of brushes detachably secured to thetop wall of each segment within saidhood',,said brushes being inclineddownwardlyand extending. radially inwardly, an arcuate header mounted ineach segment between said brushes and said top wall, orifices in said"headers, a paint supply fitting connected to theheader. in-saidintermediate segment, a-paint supply conduit connected to said fitting,flexible conduitsconnecting said fitting and the headers in eachswingable segment and a plurality of pole engaging rollers disposedbelow said brushes and adjustably mounted on the sidewall of eachsegment whereby upon' exerting a pull on said flexible element to movesaid arm and compress said spring and at the same time grasping said rodto hold said intermediate segment stationary, said swingable segmentswill open to admit a pole to be painted into said central opening andupon release of said flexible element said swingable segments will beclosed by said spring to bring said brushes and said rollers intoengagement with said pole and upon ejecting paint from said headers onsaid brushes said hood and brushes carried thereby may be manuallymanipulated through said rod to spread said paint on said pole.

2. A pole coating apparatus as defined in claim 1, in which a secondactuating arm is provided on said second swingable segment whereby saidswingable segments may be opened by manually moving said arms towardeach other.

3. A pole coating apparatus comprising a hood open at the bottom andhaving a substantially flat top wall and a circular sidewall, a centralopening in said top wall, said hood comprising an intermediate segment,a swingable segment hingedly mounted on each end of said intermediatesegment said segments being of substantially equal length, a bracketextending from the side wall of said intermediate segment, a supportingand operating rod adjustably secured to said bracket, an actuating armsecured to one of said swingable segments, a link pivotally connected tosaid arm and to the other of said swingable seg ments, an eye on saidarm, a bar pivotally mounted on said intermediate segment and slidablyreceived in said eye, a compression spring disposed on said bar betweensaid intermediate segment and said eye, a pulley mounted on saidintermediate segment, a flexible actuating element trained over saidpulley and attached to said arm, a plurality of brushes detachablysecured to the top wall of each segment within said hood, said brushesbeing inclined downwardly and extending radially inward, a headermounted in each segment between said brushes and said top wall, orificesin said headers, a paint supply fitting connected to the header in saidintermediate segment, a paint supply conduit connected to said fitting,flexible conduits connecting said fitting and the headers in eachswingable segment and a plurality of pole engaging rollers disposedbelow said brushes and adjustably mounted on the side wall of eachsegment whereby upon exerting a pull upon said flexible element to movesaid arm and compress said spring and, at the same time grasping saidrod to hold said intermediate segment stationary, said swingablesegments will open to admit a pole to be painted into said centralopening and upon release of said flexible element said swingablesegments will be closed by said spring to bring said brushes and saidrollers into engagement with said pole and upon ejecting paint from saidheaders on said brushes, said hood and brushes carried thereby may bemanually manipulated through said rod to spread said paint on said pole.

4. A pole coating apparatus comprising a hood open at the bottom andhaving a substantially flat top wall and a circular sidewall, a centralopening in said top wall, said hood comprising an intermediate segment,a swingable segment hingedly mounted on each end of said intermediatesegment, a supporting and operating rod secured to said intermediatesegment, resilient means for biasing said swingable segments to closedposition, an actuating element for opening said swingable segments, aplurality of brushes secured to each segment, an arcuate headeroverlying the brushes carried by each of said segments, orifices in'said headers, means to supplywpaint to saidheaders, and a-plurality ofpole engaging rollers disposed below said brushes and mounted in eachsegment whereby upon operation of said actuating element and; at thesame time grasping said rod to hold said intermediate segmentstationary, said swingable elements will open to admit a pole to bepainted into said central opening'and said swingable segments will beclosed by said resilient means to bring said brushes and said rollersinto engagement with said pole and upon ejecting paint upon said headerson said brushes said hood and brushes carried thereby may be manuallymanipulated through said rod to spread saidpaint on said pole.

' Refernces'Citedin the file of this patent UNITED s'r'srrns PATENTS615,627 Meinecke Dec. 6, 1,368,816 McNulty Feb. 15, 1921 2,226,633 NametDec. 31, 1940 2,336,419 Pino Dec. 7, 1943 2,357,144 -Stair Aug.29,'l-944 2,429,915 Bell Oct. 28, 1947' 2,470,994 Kremko et a1. May 24,1949 Phillips Dec. 26, 1950

